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"Hi, sorry," I say, not really sure why I feel the need to apologize I was ready for his voice up Now I feel pitiful "I didn’t think you’d pick up"

"Paige? Can I call you back in just a few ht back, okay?" His voice is partly les his phone and whatever else

"Yeah, sure I’et a chance…" I say, before he talks overthe call barely after his last word

I stare at my phone in e of my bed and let my eyes wander to the towel at my desk and the science experiment fromit clear they don’t want me here When Houston calls back, I’ll tell his I’ll come back early from holiday break to do it And I’ll find a way to talk to my parents about it--to make it okay Then I’ll fix my relationship with hts circle in my head for the next three hours until finally I can call for the cab to takeup, I scroll back to those twenty-seven seconds fro and delete the record of the call Then, I roll s down the hall, down the stairs, and out the door of the Delta House

Houston

"Dude, it smells like vomit in here," Casey says, his arm folded across his nose as he steps into the kitchen with a sroceries

"She just threw up again Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to really get the smell from that last round out of the house yet I thinkout the yellow bucket that I threw up in when I was a kid and have now passed along to ift

"So you just, what…like…hose that shit out?" His voice is still muffled in his sleeve

"Yeah Didn’t you throhen you were a kid,down the inside with a dry paper towel, and setting the bucket on the floor, then unhooking the plastic bag from Casey’s thumb

"My mom wouldn’t let us leave the bathroo his arm fall away, but only for a second while he speaks I chuckle and rollher sleep on the bathroo out a packet of soda crackers, re the?" Casey asks as he follows me back up the steps, bucket and crackers in my hands

"I think so She’s been at it since two thisI had to call in to work, which sucks ass," I whisper, not wanting Leah to hear as we get closer to her rooot a sick day without being sick When she’s napping, you should totally hit the Xbox," he says, finally letting his arotten used to it too

"All I see is six less hours of pay I’et this week," I say as I lean into Leah’s door to slide it open

"Un-co Casey!" Leah says, coughing when she screa sick

"Take it easy, kiddo Don’t overdo it," he says, reaching out his hand and ruffling Leah’s hair, which is wild and juts in atoday

Her face bunches when I set the napkin on her lap "I don’t like those," she whispers, her voice lacking the enthusiasreeteddown on the bed next to her, rolling upfor a fever We’ve been lucky so far, and she’s still cool now "If you can eat two of these and not throw up for…" I look atto think of a safe, but arbitrary time, "thirty minutes…" Leah looks up at me, her bottom lips sucked into her ar cookie next"

Leah grabs a cracker fast, stuffing the entire thing in her mouth at once

"Slowly Eat them slowly Re as shenibbles, her eyes wide on et a cookie anyway, because that face doesneeds to stop too